Things You Said Under the Stars and In the Grass
by rscoil
Summary: Raoul and Christine turn to the sea to heal.


Christine sat on the grass in the stillness of predawn, the morning dew soaking through her skirts. The gentle rhythm of waves lapping onto the beaches of Perros was a steady constant and she tried to find some solace in the sound.

It had been three weeks since that night of terror in Paris. The bruises on her head and the rope burns on her wrists had healed. Raoul's burnt skin looked more normal by the day.

Raoul had brought her here, where the sea and the sky made the house on the lake feel like a distant nightmare. Her lungs could draw fresh air and the sun could kiss her pallid skin.

"Christine." Raoul's voice was quiet. He sat beside her and wrapped a dry blanket around them both.

"I was worried sick. I woke up and you were gone. I was trying not to think the worst."

She imagined those cold yellow eyes, glinting in the darkness, and shivered. "Not here. Not now. He gave his word." She snuggled closer to Raoul as his warm arms wrapped around her.

Raoul looked unconvinced, but chose not to press the issue.

In the darkness, Christine found her courage. "I'm sorry."

"Think nothing of it, Lotte. You never even left the yard."

She shook her head. "No, not for that. For everything."

"What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

"I'm so sorry for dragging you into all of this. If I hadn't believed in him, if I had escaped when he wasn't expecting it, you wouldn't have been tortured. Your brother would still be alive. You could be off fraternizing with the nobility and not comforting a silly Swedish peasant girl."

"Christine, there is nowhere I would rather be than here with you." He kissed her forehead. "And you did nothing wrong. I love you enough that I would die for you, and you cannot change that. Philippe felt the same way about me, only he paid that price. He'd be happy to know that we were both safe at the end of it. We are free, Christine."

"Are we? Are we really?"

"Of course." He rubbed her back soothingly. "We are here, safe and sound by the beach where we played all those years ago. You used to imagine the most wonderful stories and take me on the most magical adventures."

"But there is no magic, Raoul, and we are no longer children. Sometimes, the specters are real and they take everything you have."

"There is no magic," she continued, "and there can never be. I am a being of music, Raoul, and I am trapped in a terrible silence!"

She tore herself free of his embrace and wrapped her arms around her knees. "He took everything. My music will be buried with him. After everything I gave so freely, what right does he have to take that?" Sobs shook her small frame. "It is gone and I have no soul with which to sing. There is nothing but this infernal silence and I cannot fill it!"

"Then let me try." His voice was gentle.

"Raoul, how on earth do you expect to make music to chase away the aftertaste of his? I do not know that it is possible."

"It is," he said with confidence. "I should know. I intend to marry the Angel of Music."

Christine flinched at the phrase and she looked to be on the verge of tears. "Please, do not call me that. I am no one's angel, only a broken woman who has no business damaging your life even further."

"Christine Daae, I love you. Pet names aside, I love the brave, inventive, clever woman you are. You are the kindest person I've ever met, the strongest person I've ever met. We are both alive because of your compassion and grace. You deserve every happiness this world can offer, and I intend to make that happen. If that means learning to sing with you, I will do it. If it means mastering the art of composition, I will do so. But, at the end of the day, the music that fills you will be your own. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, it will come back. One day, you will be whole again. I hope you will let me be by your side for that adventure."

Her lips met his a moment later. "I love you."

Raoul chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her once more. He pulled the blanket around them as the sky began to lighten above them.

She drifted to sleep as the beating of his heart and the rush of the waves played in counterpoint. For the first time in so very long, Christine heard music and was not afraid.


End file.
